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Plato's Stepchildren (episode)
The Enterprise finds a planet inhabited by aliens who were once followers of the Greek philosopher Plato. Summary ]] Summoned by an urgent request for medical help, the ''Enterprise'' crew finds a group of aliens who supposedly model their society on the teachings of Plato. Their leader is suffering massive infection and is close to death. The crew discovers the Platonians' powerful psychokinetic abilities, as the man's delirium has violent effects on his surroundings. Another Platonian trait is extreme longevity, as well as frail physical immunity seemingly caused by their emphasis on mental prowess. This is what caused their powerful ruler to be so vulnerable to what should have been a minor injury. When in the Sahndara system, the inhabitants initiated an eugenics program. "Plato's Stepchildren" escaped to Earth in the time of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato when their star, Sahndara, went supernova. They established a republic based on the eponymous work, where 38 inhabitants live of quiet contemplation and self-reliance. powers.]] A simple cut in the leg has developed an unknown infection. Dr. McCoy's treatment of Parmen is effective, and the crew attempts to leave the planet. However, the Enterprise is frozen; there are no transporters, no navigation, or subspace communication with Starfleet. Captain Kirk barges into Parmen's chamber, and Parmen strips Kirk of his weapon and tell him that guests must recognize his supremacy. In an allusion to the Greek ideal of guest-friend, Kirk retorts: "Guest? You don't know the meaning of the word. Guests are not treated like common prisoners." Parmen uses his psychokinetic powers to force Kirk to slap himself in the face repeatedly. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are in their room next, trying to contact the Enterprise to no avail. The Platonians summon them and seem grateful for McCoy's help. They provide the landing party with gifts: the shield of Pericles goes to Kirk, a kithara to Spock, and a collection of Greek cures written by Hippocrates for McCoy. Parmen appeals for Kirk's forgiveness. He says he will release the ship, but he wants McCoy to remain on the planet. McCoy refuses, and Parmen says he will not be refused. Kirk says that he cannot consider himself a descendant of Plato. Spock points out, "Plato wanted truth and beauty and above all, justice." Parmen says that their society is the most democratic ever – unlike the Federation, which uses weapons to enforce justice, the Platonians use the power of the mind. He says wants to persuade Kirk and Spock to leave peacefully so as not to upset McCoy. Parmen uses his mental mental powers to intimidate and humiliate Captain Kirk and Spock into compliance. First, they sing a song and dance a jig. Kirk tells McCoy that he is not going to let him stay behind, and Parmen makes Kirk recite some lines which are from Shakespeare's Sonnet LVII: "Being your slave what should I do but tend | Upon the hours, and times of your desire? | I have no precious time at all to spend; | Nor services to do, till you ..." (see Shakespeare and Star Trek). Parmen makes Spock dance some more, and then forces him to laugh and cry, torturing his Vulcan psychology by forcing emotion out of him. McCoy decides that he will volunteer to stay, but Kirk refuses, pointing out that once they are gone they will be destroyed. Alexander speaks up, saying that Kirk is right. He gives a speech that says he used to think that it was his own fault that he did not have the same powers, and that he was lucky that the Platonians kept him alive. But now, after the crew stood up to them and showed them for what they are, he knows it's them. Spock questions Alexander about the powers, and learns that the power grew shortly after the Platonians used up their food stores and started eating local food. McCoy scans Alexander's blood and finds that Parmen has more kironide, which is broken down by the pituitary gland. McCoy synthesizes the kironide and injects himself, Kirk and Spock. Kirk suggests that Alexander get a dose, take Parmen's place, and rule the planet, but Alexander refuses: "You think that's what I want? Become one of them? Become my own enemy? Just lie around like a big blob of nothing and have things done for me? I want to run around for myself. If I am going to laugh or cry I want to do it for myself. You can keep your precious power. All I ask is one thing: if you do make it out of here, take me with you." The conversation is interrupted when the Platonians have Lt. Uhura and Nurse Chapel beam down. Kirk and Spock try to lift some plates of food, but the powers have not kicked in yet. Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and Chapel are led to a stage. Parmen would like to welcome McCoy, but he has to convince McCoy to change his mind first. He makes Spock sing what he calls "a serenade from the laughing spaceman" to Uhura and Chapel. Then, the quartet split into two pairs: Uhura and Kirk, and Chapel and Spock. Chapel and Spock are forced to kiss despite their protests; Chapel confesses that she has wanted to be close to Spock for so long but now she wants to crawl away. Uhura likewise confesses to Kirk that she was so often calmed by Kirk when she was frightened on the bridge. The two couples struggle in vain to avoid kissing. After the kiss, Parmen compels Kirk to crack a bullwhip at Uhura and Spock to brandish a hot poker at Chapel. While Parmen is distracted controlling the four officers, Alexander attempts to sneak up on him with a knife. Parmen shifts his focus to trying to make Alexander turn the knife on himself. Meanwhile, Kirk begins to feel his telekinetic power building, and laughs once he prevents Alexander from hurting himself. Parmen cannot believe that Kirk has telekinetic abilities, and tries to test them. He sends Alexander to threaten Kirk with the knife, but again the captain turns the tables on the Platonian. For a brief time, the two minds fight for control of Alexander. Kirk's power is proven the greater, but ultimately they both release him. Alexander begins to use his free will to attack Parmen, but Kirk stops him, asking simply, "Do you want to be like him?" Alexander struggles with his conscience, but finally drops the knife, heaping contempt onto his former leader instead. Parmen sees that Kirk has spared his life, and appears repentant. He promises that he will be benevolent towards future visits by Starfleet. Spock and Kirk are dubious of the reform, and so stress that any returning visitors can easily be dosed with kironide as well. Parmen appears to acquiesce to this truth, and Kirk seems satisfied that the "Platonian problem" has been solved. Kirk calls Scotty for transport, saying that he has "a little surprise" for the Chief Engineer. Kirk intends to make good on his earlier promise to remove Alexander from Platonius. Log Entries *"Captain’s log, stardate 5784.2. We are responding to desperate distress calls from an unknown planet. My science officer, Mr. Spock, is unable to account for this, since he reported no signs of life on the planet. It is rich in kironide deposits, a very rare and long-lasting source of great power." *"Captain’s log, stardate 5784.3. Dr. McCoy is endeavoring to treat the leader of a strange group of people. When their planet novaed, millennia ago, they transported themselves to Earth during the time of Socrates and Plato. After the death of the Greek civilization they idolized, they came to this planet and created for themselves a utopia patterned after it." Memorable Quotes "Your Excellency." "Parmen will do. Philosopher kings have no need of titles." : - Kirk and Parmen "They're going to kill you after a while. You know that!" "In that case, what's the point in you dying, too, Alexander?" "That's the first time anyone's ever thought of my life before his own." : - Alexander and Kirk "I feel so afraid." "That's the way they ''want you to feel. It makes them think that they're alive." : - '''Uhura' and Kirk, before "The Kiss." "Pituitary hormones confirm the hypothesis. They also regulate body growth." "Oh, you mean the same thing that kept me from having the power made me a... dwarf?" : - Spock and Alexander "You think that's what I ''want? Become one of them? Become my own enemy? Just lie around like a big blob of nothing and have things done for me? No, sir! If I want to do something, I'll do it for myself! If I want to laugh or cry, I'll do it for myself! You can keep your precious power! All I ask is one thing. If you do make it out of here, take me with you!" : - Alexander, after being offered to be given the psychokinetic ability by McCoy "Don't stop me! Let me finish him off!" "Do you want to be like him?" : - Alexander (with Parmen at knifepoint) and Kirk "Parmen, listen to me. I could have had your power, but I didn't want it. I could have had your position, your place, right now! But the sight of you and your ''academicians sickens me. Despite your brains, you're the most contemptible beings who ever lived in this universe." : - '''Alexander' "The release of emotion is what keeps us healthy. Emotionally healthy." "That may be, Doctor. However, I have noted that the healthy release of emotion is frequently unhealthy for those closest to you." : - McCoy and Spock "Where I come from, size shape or color makes no difference." : - Kirk to Alexander "For so long I've wanted to be close to you. Now all I want to do is crawl away and die!" : - Nurse Christine Chapel to Spock "Too much love is dangerous." "Cupid's arrow kills Vulcans." : - Dionyd and Eraclitus, when Spock kisses Chapel "Uncontrolled power will turn even saints into savages. And we can all be counted on to live down to our lowest impulses." : - Parmen "I'm Tweedledee, he's Tweedledum." "We're spacemen marching to and from." "We slythe among the mimsy troves," "And tire among the borogroves." : - Kirk and Spock Background Information * This episode has long been famous for featuring "the first interracial kiss on American network television". To be more precise, it was "the first kiss between a fictional white male and a fictional black female to premiere on American network television". Almost a year earlier ( ), NBC broadcast an Emmy Award-winning musical-variety special entitled Movin' With Nancy, during which singers Nancy Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. greeted each other with a kiss.http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0006/17/lklw.00.html Desilu's flagship show, ''I Love Lucy'', had years previously broken the barrier on Hispanic/Caucasian kissing. Also, ''The Little Rascals'' had some "innocent" kisses between its child stars, but these shorts had previously premiered in cinemas under the title Our Gang. * There is some dispute about whether the kiss actually occurred. According to the photo at left, is appears that the actors' lips are touching. However, both Shatner and Nichols claim in Star Trek Memories that NBC exerted pressure to forbid lip contact, and to use a clever camera technique to conceal the "separation". * According to Nichelle Nichols, in the early script, it was supposed to be Spock that kissed Uhura, but William Shatner had it changed, saying "If anyone's gonna get to kiss Nichelle, it's going to be me, I mean, Captain Kirk!" Nichols also said that they got more mail on that episode than any other episode in the history of the series and none of it, surprisingly, was negative. Nichols recalled a letter that Gene Roddenberry showed her. It was from a man in the American South, and he said "I am against the mixing of the races, but anytime a red-blooded American boy like Captain Kirk gets his arms around a gal like Lt. Uhura, he ain't gonna fight it!" * After being absent from the second season because of a dispute with Gene Roddenberry, Alexander "Sandy" Courage returned to compose the music for this episode, his last score for Star Trek. This episode was also the last episode to have an original score, although new songs were composed for . * George Takei (Sulu) and Walter Koenig (Chekov) do not appear in this episode. * The story outline was originally titled "The Sons of Socrates" and submitted . The episode was filmed early to mid-September. * The episode pioneers the use of psychokinetic energy to strangle Alexander, almost a decade before 's famous " ". * This episode was not shown until in the United Kingdom with the BBC skipping it due to 'sadistic' elements in the plot. (The same fate befell and and a decision was also taken to not repeat in a 'family' timeslot for similar reasons.) Assumptions that was excluded because the Kirk/Uhura kiss would have been 'controversial' are erroneous. In fact, British television had featured its first 'interracial' kiss several years before US TV; the massively popular prime time soap opera depicting a long term 'interracial' relationship between two major characters throughout 1964 without inciting controversy in the UK (although the producers had expected that it would). * Spock's observation that Plato desired justice above all is quite correct. In "The Republic," the philosopher envisioned justice as the highest ideal to which any state could aspire, achieved through the harmonious interplay of wisdom, courage, and temperance. *Leonard Nimoy composed "Maiden Wine," the song that he performs in this episode. Production Timeline * Story outline by Meyer Dolinsky, * First draft teleplay, * Third draft teleplay, * Filmed in early and mid September 1968 Remastered Information The remastered version of "Plato's Stepchildren" aired in many North American markets during the weekend of . Very few new effects were required. Like all other remastered episodes, the physical model of Enterprise has been wholly replaced by a CGI model throughout the episode. Similarly, Enterprise is universally shot at different—and typically closer—angles than in the original. The most dramatic new effect is that of the planet Platonius. It has changed from its original, Mars-like appearance to one that greatly resembles Earth. Also, in the remastered version, every image of Platonius also includes Enterprise in frame, whereas the original includes shots of the planet alone. Image:Platonius.jpg|The original Platonius Image:PlatoniusRemastered.jpg|...and its remastered counterpart Dr. McCoy's tricorder insert also received a touch-up. Its display was transformed from a bar graph that approximated sickbay displays to an integrated line chart. The benefit of the changed effect is that the display now more easily reads as a true comparison of the blood of Alexander and Parmen, along with (ostensibly) Human norms. Image:TricorderComparativeScanOld.jpg|McCoy's original tricorder scan Image:TricorderComparativeScanNew.jpg|... and the animated graphical comparison of the remastered version In addition, the digital restoration of non-SFX shots has resulted in an overall brightening of color that is perhaps more profound in this abstractly-designed episode than in others. Video and DVD releases * UK VHS release (CIC Video): catalogue number VHR 2084, . :Released with , the volume was originally unrated, as it was released prior to the . After , it received a rating of PG. :Because of the BBC's decision to omit this episode from its initial runs, this release was the first time that UK viewers could see it. *Original US Betamax release: . * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 35, catalogue number VHR 2431, . * US VHS release: . * UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 3.4, . * Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 34, . * As part of the TOS Season 3 DVD collection. Links and References Starring * William Shatner as Kirk Also Starring * Leonard Nimoy as Spock :And * DeForest Kelley as McCoy Guest Stars * Michael Dunn as Alexander * Liam Sullivan as Parmen * Barbara Babcock as Philana * James Doohan as Scott * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * Majel Barrett as Nurse Chapel * Ted Scott as Eraclitus * Derek Partridge as Dionyd Uncredited Guest Stars * William Blackburn as Hadley References chess; Cupid; Excellency; Hippocrates; infection; kironide; kithara; "Maiden Wine"; Pericles; philosopher king; physician; Plato; Platonian; Platonius; psychokinesis; republic; Sahndara; Sahndara system; Through the Looking-Glass External link * |next= |lastair= |nextair= |lastair_remastered= |nextair_remastered= }} Category:TOS episodes de:Platos Stiefkinder es:Plato's Stepchildren nl:Plato's Stepchildren